Is South African Architecture based on an international architecture?
South African architecture is known for its influences from countries such as France and Germany which have contributed to the iconic international architectural landscape still present throughout the country today. One such example is the Sanlam Plaza by Theunissen and Jankowits architects in Bloemfontein. To try and understand or dissect Sanlam Plaza, more recently known as Bloem Plaza, one must first understand the true meaning and intention of post-modernism also referred to as second modernism. To further understand this movement and its impact in South Africa it will be compared to a Renaissance building which is very similar in façade, namely the Palazzo Chigi-Odescalchi.
Post-modernism can most simply be identified as an “anti-modern” movement, (The Postmodern Moment, page 19). Marvin Trachtenberg describes it as: “An architectural phase which embraces overt historicism, garish symbolism, vivid ornamentation and humble vernacular models,” (Trachtenberg, 1986. Pg. 553). Post-modernism places emphasis on existing styles and classic forms, but contains a modern approach to its design. The idea of texture, colour and profile re-emerge in this period as seen in designs such as The Portland Building, Oregon by Michael Graves. Space is also approached in more traditional terms. Walls once again form elements which contain volumes, contradicting the Modernist approach of free plan or “infinite space,” (ibid.). The works of architects such as Philip Johnson (e.g. AT & T Building), Robert Venturi (e.g. Guild House) and Charles Moore (e.g. Piazza d’Italia) are all good examples of post-modern designs. Robert Venturi, comments that: “I try to be guided not by habit ...
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...classic arch. These are not present on Chigi-Odescalchi.
The interior of Bloem Plaza also focuses on traditional design elements such as large columns with strips of tile details. The floor consists of tiles which, through use of colour, form patterns. Other elements are heavily embellished lifts and handrails at all stairs. The roof of the food court also contains extravagant circular details to highlight the main space within the structure.
By understanding the definition of post-modernism and by being able to identify so many traditional and classic elements which have been approached in a modern way one must conclude that Bloem Plaza is a Post-modern building. It has derived inspiration from classical movements which go as far back as Greek and Roman architecture, leading to an international architectural landscape which still impacts our way of design today.
It is the new decade after the end of world war two and modernism is a well-established practice. Its pioneers and spearheads are prevalent figures looming over the new architects and designers who are trying to make their mark in the shadows of such historically influential people. With new technologies and materials emerging from the world wars the next era of modernism had started to evolved, bringing with it philosophies and ideas which seemed far removed from those of the pioneers of modernism “What emerged in the late 1940s and 1950s was an expanding synthesis of questions utterly removed from the confident statements of the pioneers.”(Spade 1971,10) Two significant buildings were designed in the 50's, both of them for educational institutes and to house students of architecture, there were both designed in completely different styles and methods. The first is Ludwig Mies van der Rohes' Crown Hall, finished in 1956 and designed as a part of a campus master plan for the Illinois Institute of technology in Chicago. Mies' design for Crown Hall is one of his most realised expressio...
In all, both the Glasgow Art Building and the Goldman-Schwartz Art Building have a surprising number of similarities. Although they are located on two different continents, the styles are remarkably similar especially considering their function. Their similar goals to promote creativity by designing an open and free environment are perhaps, the most significant and interesting features of the structures. By comparing these features, it gives an indication of the serious dedication to art that has existed across the world regardless of history.
Contemporary architectural commentary has iconized the fountain as an example of Postmodern architecture, primarily for its adaptation of historical architectural ornament (4).
Abstract: New forms in current world have been testimony to the contemporary style of postmodern architecture and are the strength of today’s generation for creating significant architectural standards. Post modernism has blurred the borders between contemporary and traditional construction classical concepts and simply in the field of art and literature. The architectural elements like domes, arches, and classical shapes have lost their identity but the post modernism tries to bridge between these historical forms and contemporary styles. The related architects not only struggled to achieve the image for the buildings but also rejected oversimplified diagrams for living. The post modernism here tries to achieve theoretical base for their designs that creates the excitement in the design program.
Sometimes the best revolutions are those that are forgotten. At least in the short run. And so it is with Robert Venturi, a revolutionary and remarkable architect. While he may not be as celebrated as Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, or Louis Kahn, Venturi leaves behind a forceful intellectual legacy that is perhaps more durable than any building. By condemning the functionalism, simplicity, and orthodoxy of modernism in Contradiction and Complexity in Architecture (1966), he instigated an enduring architectural rebellion. This rebellion continues to run its course today. Notably, Venturi’s ideas sparked and profoundly influenced postmodernism, an international style whose buildings span from the beautiful to the gaudy and vulgar. Ultimately, Venturi’s alternative to modernism succeeded because he prized human experience and the interaction of individuals with architectural forms over a rigid, doctrinaire ideology.
Reinventing icons not only holds true in Postmodern art, but it also holds true in architecture, where modern form reinvents tall stacks. Postmodern has continued to influence the world around us, reconsidering and redefine forms, beauty, and functionality propelling concern globally for the environment (Fiero 503). Environmental concern, Postmodern humor and breaking from tradition can be seen in the contemporary work of architect Norman Foster in the Swiss Re office building at 30 St. Mary Ave. in London (Fiero
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
The “Less is more”. These three words really jump-started the modernist movement in architecture and embodies the philosophy of minimalism. Stripping away the ornament and décor to get to the essence of a building. Mies van der Rohe changed architecture through radical ideas.
Context- The purpose of this presentation is to inform my fellow classmates about the main concepts that inspire African Architecture and to show how these concepts can have effective applications in modern society.
Frank Lloyd Wright has been called “one of the greatest American architect as well as an Art dealer that produced a numerous buildings, including houses, resorts, gardens, office buildings, churches, banks and museums. Wright was the first architect that pursues a philosophy of truly organic architecture that responds to the symphonies and harmonies in human habitats to their natural world. He was the apprentice of “father of Modernism” Louis Sullivan, and he was also one of the most influential architects on 20th century in America, Wright is idealist with the use of elemental theme and nature materials (stone, wood, and water), the use of sky and prairie, as well as the use of geometrical lines in his buildings planning. He also defined a building as ‘being appropriate to place’ if it is in harmony with its natural environment, with the landscape (Larkin and Brooks, 1993).
ways than a singular form. Post-modernism posed the question of what the form of architecture
Largest early influence to Singapore’s architecture comes definitely from the British. From 1826 to 1963 the country’s architecture had its roots deep in the Great Britain, because of the colonial rule that was introduced by Stamford Raffles who arrived to Singapore with Willi...
In developing this contemporary and iconic building, the design focuses on practical attributes and optimises energy efficiency. The design strategy encapsulates four key aspects:
Charles Jencks in his book “The Language of Post-Modern Architecture “shows various similarities architecture shares with language, reflecting about the semiotic rules of architecture and wanting to communicate architecture to a broader public. The book differentiates post-modern architecture from architectural modernism in terms of cultural and architectural history by transferring the term post-modernism from the study of literature to architecture.
The pavilion is significant figure in the history of modern architecture, regarded to be influential with its open plan and use of exotic material. There is a blurred spatial demarcation where the interior becomes an exterior and exterior becomes the interior. The structure constantly offers new perspectives and experiences, as visitors discover and rediscover in the progress of moving throughout the in’s and out’s, a non directional conforming circulating movement pattern. To facilitate this movement, even though it is a visually simplistic plan, its complexity is derived from the strategic layout of walls with its intimation of an infinite freedom of